Twitter has adopted a “limited-duration shareholder rights plan”, also known as a “poison pill”. This will prevent anyone from having more than a 15% stake in the company.
This was actioned after Elon Musk’s offers to buy Twitter. In Mr Musk’s belief, Twitter is limiting freedom of speech on the platform and he restated this at the Vancouver event. He has said his immediate incentive would be to augment free speech – a US Constitutional right – on Twitter.
Mr Musk said he would pay $54.20 a share for Twitter, valuing it at about $40bn. He added- if his offer was not accepted: “I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder”. “This is not a threat, it’s simply not a good investment without the changes that need to be made,”– Musk’s further statement.
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
He added: “Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it.”
The Twitter board described its shield plan to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and placed out a statement saying it was needed because of Mr Musk’s “unsolicited, non-binding proposal to acquire Twitter”.
